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Stagliano Judge May Throw Out 'Fetish Fanatics' Trailer

Lyla Katz, Rachel LarrisJul 14, 2010 1:00 PM PDT

WASHINGTON — The government’s case against John Stagliano under the charge that material, in the form of a movie trailer, was accessible to minors had been thrown into question after a major technical malfunction occurred during the playing of the video.

The government’s witness was playing a media file that was “captured” as a screen save of what the FBI agent viewed on Jan. 21, 2008, when he surfed EvilAngel.com. The media file showed a portion of the trailer to jurors when, roughly four minutes into the eight-minute "Fetish Fanatics" trailer, the video file froze and crashed.

Another problem for the prosecution became apparent when the video wasn't accompanied with audio. The government conceded that the original file, recorded more than two years ago, became corrupted and wasn't played in its entity.

Defense counsel told the judge they were never given a copy of the media file they would play, even after repeatedly telling prosecutor Pamela Satterfield about their problems with it.

Judge Richard Leon gave both parties one hour to argue why a copy of the media file, which includes the trailer, cannot be substituted into evidence.

He warned Satterfield that he may not allow a copy to be added into evidence, which would mean the seventh count of the indictment against Stagliano would be thrown out.